Leo Express becomes first private railway operator in Poland, tickets now on sale

PRAGUE, 20. 6. 2018 – Leo Express becomes first international open access operator on Polish railway. and Krakow will be connected by Leo Express train for the first time on July 20th. New service will be ideal for weekend trips, departing from Prague to Krakow every Friday and Sunday. From Krakow to Prague, the train will depart every Saturday and Monday. Tickets for the new rail service are now on sale.

Leo Express will be the first private railway operator and also the only Czech railway company in Poland. First train will leave to Polish Krakow on Friday, 20th July at 16:10 from Prague main station. After going through the regular stops on the route to Bohumín, train will enter Poland and take passengers to the Energylandia amusement park in Zator and cities like Tychy, , Oswiecim or Myslowice with the end of its journey in Krakow. It will be the fastest and most comfortable connection between Prague and Krakow, being an ideal choice for weekend trips.

„Friday the 20th is important day for us, because we will become the first private railway company in Poland and we will introduce the fastest connection between the and important cities like Tychy, Katowice, Myslowice or Krakow. As of now, Poland has one of the lowest usage of rail in Europe and we want to change that. We see a large potential in the Polish railway market. Our aim is to support further rail liberalization in Poland and increase the passengers’ interest in environment-friendly modern means of transport,” said Peter Köhler, Leo Express CEO.

The first ever crossing of the Czech-Polish border will happen around 8pm. Leo Express will offer its highly comfortable trains with premium services, some of which can passengers enjoy on the bus line to Krakow, also operated by Leo Express. As a matter of course, passengers will enjoy Wi-Fi connection, foodservice and caring stewards. All tickets can be bought online and there is no need to print them. The ticket between Prague and the Krakow passenger will buy from 109 crowns. “Our usual passengers are young people and students, who use our bus network between Warsaw and Vienna, or Lviv and Prague. We believe that even more people will use Leo Express services and we will become one of the main passenger transport companies in Poland,” said Peter Köhler.

Due to ongoing repair works on Polish rails, Leo Express trains will start operations only on weekends. Leo Express plans to expand its services when the works finish.

Leo Express Global a. s., Řehořova 908/ 4, 130 00 Praha 3 [email protected], www.leoexpress.com

Leo Express news in Poland: • Leo Express enters Polish rail as the first private open-access railway operator and as the only Czech railway company. • Leo Express train will depart from Prague to Krakow every Friday and Sunday at 16:10 with scheduled arrival in Krakow at 23:19. Train will depart from Krakow at 05:04 and arrive in Prague at 11:39 every Saturday and Monday. • The ticket between Prague and the Royal passenger will buy from 109 crowns. • Train stops in the Czech Republic: Praha, main station, Praha – Libeň, Kolín, , Zábřeh na Moravě, , Přerov, Hranice na Moravě, Suchdol nad Odrou, Studénka, – Svinov, Ostrava, hl. n., Bohumín • Train stops in Poland: Zebrzydowice, Pszczyna, Tychy, Katowice, Myslowice, Oswiecim, Zator, Energylandia, Skawia, Krakow

Emil Sedlařík Leo Express spokesperson

Contact Mobile phone: +420 773 740 512, E-mail: [email protected]

Leo Express is a private multimodal transportation company, which has been carrying passenger on main railway routes in Czech Republic and Slovakia since 2012 in its own modern electric trainsets. The carrier also has a network of bus and minibus connections linked to railway lines in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Austria, Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Hungary. In year 2017 it started operations in Germany between Berlin and Stuttgart becoming the first Czech passenger railway undertaking operating outside Czech and Slovak Republic. In 2018, it will start operation of new international rail passenger services between Prague and Krakow.

Leo Express also offers door2door transportation. In 2016 company announced purchase of rolling stock from the biggest rail manufacturer CRRC. In 2017 company founded peer-to-peer carsharing company SmileCar. Leo Express CEO is Peter Köhler, founder of the company is Leoš Novotný. and Krakow. More about Leo Express at www.leoexpress.com.

Leo Express Global a. s., Řehořova 908/ 4, 130 00 Praha 3 [email protected], www.leoexpress.com